Thursday, July 30, 2009

Several of you have mentioned that you didn't know we were moving...I'm so sorry! I guess in all the hustle and bustle, I just neglected to fill my blog friends in on our happenings. So here we go, I'll fill in the blanks!

Mark finished TBS (The Basic School) in May. Here are some graduation pictures:

After graduation, we packed (whew, we were crazy to do a "self-move"!) All I can say about the drive from Virginia to Florida was that 4 days of 6-hour+ car trips with little ones (we had a few stops to stretch it out)...absolute craziness. Honestly, the boys were troopers! But even the sweetest boys start to go crazy after sitting in the car that long.

We made it, though, and God blessed us with a beautiful rental home within 1/2 mile of Escambia Bay (the bay Pensacola sits on). I do not exaggerate to say that we live in a resort-like community. Our house is big, open, airy...the perfect beach house. We've been to the beach probably 4 times since we moved. The boys love it! So do we - though this last visit is still painfully remembered every time I move my shoulders, as I foolishly neglected putting sunscreen on (sigh!)

We're enjoying this season of Mark's career...he is here for flight school (has a pilot's contract in the USMC) but the wait is looking like it will be April/May before he starts. Meanwhile, he'll have a light job that will bring him home around lunch time/nap time most days, with weekends off and NOTHING like the pressures we experienced during TBS. Truthfully, we are having a time of healing and renewal as a family, it's been wonderful. Cole loves to cuddle, and Graeme is exploring his new surroundings with relish :-)

Since my oldest son is talking non-stop these days, he's coming up with some funnies that I thought I'd share.

Moe's is a Subway-style Mexican restaurant. Definitely one of our favorites. Whenever we're headed out to eat at Moe's, we'll tell Graeme we're going to Moe's, and then we all chime in with "Welcome-to-Moes!" (which all the employees holler out when someone enters the restaurant).

Tonight, leaving, Mama says, "Say bye-bye to Moes".

Graeme willingly waves and shouts: "Bye-bye, Welcome-to-Moes!"

We have really been working with Graeme on not pushing/kicking/knocking his brother down lately. Part of the discipline includes Graeme going to Cole, giving him a hug and kiss, and telling him he is sorry for ---. I guess you can see how much we've had to work on this when, this morning, I hear Cole start to cry, come around the corner, and can quickly see what *probably* happened, since Graeme is holding the toy Cole was playing with. Before I can get a word out, though, Graeme starts crying with Cole, rather frantically repeats "Hug, kiss, sorry!"

Then before his nap, I say, "Can you give Cole a night-night hug and kiss?" He goes up to Cole, very sweetly gives him a big hug and a smackaroo...and a very sincere "Sorry"! I wonder if he really understands what "Sorry" means. Ah, well.

Last week I told Graeme it is kind to ask people how they are doing. We practiced a bit. Now I often here a little voice: "Hi Mama, How are you doing?" I have to make sure to respond as we practiced, because I usually forget and just laugh and give him a big hug because it's so cute!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A fitting title for both the blog and my life right now! My blog is getting a re-vamp (again, I know). We're settling into our house here in FL...and it seems like every area I'd found a balance in the past year is getting re-hauled. Life-changes have a way of doing that, I suppose. We were in quite a groove when it came to our daily routine, meal planning, etc! So while we settle in once more, I'll get back to blogging more frequently - have lots of pictures to share and news to talk about.

Meanwhile, we are loving living within 20 minutes of the beach! Here's one of Graeme's favorite pasttimes:

Many people have said to me “What a pity you had such a big family to raise. Think of the novels and the short stories and the poems you never had time to write because of that.” And I looked at my children and I said, “These are my poems. These are my short stories.” –Olga Masters

Hi, I'm Amanda. Blessed to be wife to Mark. Amazed to be Momma to 2 blue-eyed boys. Living abundantly because I'm a child of God.